The Butterfield Overland Mail Company initially followed a route between St. Louis and San Francisco which skirted the Rocky Mountains and avoided the heavy winter mountain snows by traveling through Texas, southern New Mexico Territory, Arizona and southern California. The trip, about 2,800 miles, was made in twenty-five days and sometimes less. Lack of water and hostile Indians plagued the route throughout its existence. This is a section of the route just West of Maricopa, Arizona.